For Vietnam Veteran’s Day a service was held at the Vietnam War memorial at the Inverell RSM Club to remember the 84 troops from Inverell and the four men who did not return.

MC Jacko Ross said troops from Inverell were involved in all eight years of the Australian campaign in Vietnam.

“All the men from Inverell did us proud,” he said.

“ We are not here today to glorify any battles, we are here purely to remember our mates, especially the four who did not come back, Corporal Alex Fotheringham, Lance Corporal Robert Power, Private Peter Arnold and Private Peter McGarry.”

Vietnam Veterans’ Day is commemorated on 18 August every year.

The day was originally known as Long Tan Day, to commemorate the men of D Company, 6RAR who fought in the battle of Long Tan in 1966. On that day, 108 Australian and New Zealand soldiers fought a pitched battle against up to 2,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops in a rubber plantation not far from the abandoned village of Long Tan.

The Australians prevailed, but only after fighting in torrential rain for four hours. They were nearly overrun, but were saved by a timely ammunition resupply, accurate artillery fire from the nearby Australian base, and the arrival of reinforcements by armoured personnel carrier. Eighteen Australians lost their lives and 24 were wounded; the largest number of casualties in a single action in Vietnam. After the battle the bodies of 245 enemy soldiers were found, but there was evidence that many more had been carried away.

The bravery, tenacity and sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at Long Tan became legendary. That single engagement on just one afternoon in August 1966 has come to symbolise Australia’s ten-year-long involvement in our nation’s longest war.

The Australian War Memorial has historians available for interview about the Battle of Long Tan and the history of Vietnam Veteran’s Day.

Over 379,000 visitors have explored the new Conflicts 1945 to today galleries, featuring the stories of Australian service men and women who have served in modern conflicts including Vietnam. The galleries include a dramatic re-enactment of the battle of Long Tan.